Penny's Riddick
by blackanubis9
Summary: Based on a true story, at least at first. Jack and Riddick are happy, but it can't stay that way, or it would be really boring. How far will she run, and how far will he go to get her back when things go from bad to OMG she's #@!ed!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Riddick and Jack are not mine. The story, however, is. This is actually something that happened to me, at least the middle part of this first chapter. Only someone who has been cheated on by their first love can really understand this. Fortunately, I never made this particular promise, and we worked it out. We've been happy for many years, but the pain never goes away. It's just something you can only forgive, not forget. I can keep going with this, but I won't unless I get feedback. No feedback, no new chaps. Happy angsting!

Life was good. They had found a backwater planet and had made a life. A life where they could be happy, where he had a "job" as an underground fighter, and she did what she did best: hacker/entrepreneur. It had been years since the crash, when they had dropped the holy man off at New Mecca and set off to find someplace under the radar. Even though she had been sixteen at the time and stunted by a life on the streets, with regular meals and training with Riddick, she had finally grown up to be a beautiful woman. It had taken time and patience to convince him that she did not see him as a brother, but since then they had been happy just to be with each other. Being able to finally stay in one place, to have roots, had made them both surprisingly happy. She had thought he was happy with her. That was the whole point, though. She _thought._

It was Friday, and every Friday they went to the same bar to let loose before he went to his "job". He never wanted her to go, told her it was something that he wanted that was just for him, and as she knew he was only turning men into pulp, she was fine with it. They had always worked so well together because they were honest. They both were flirtatious people, they knew that and accepted that, but they had long since sat down and decided what the boundaries were. Dancing with men, ok. Lap dancing with men, not ok. Dancing with women, ok. Dirty dancing with women, ok. Anything more than that, not ok. Simple, right? And even though the last few months, one particular woman had claimed him for several dances, she never worried. Let the woman torture herself by trying to seduce him and end up realizing every time, as with all the other times in the past, that dancing does not mean she got to take him home. He was spoken for. Honestly, Jack kinda got off on watching the poor woman try to get in his pants so hard, only to be politely rebuffed. And she always made it up to him the next morning, like a thank you, a reassurance that she knew how hard it could be at times to turn down sex. For so many years he had been used to getting it when he could, never knowing when it would next be available, so it had taken some getting used to for him. And she always rewarded his efforts.

Which is why she was somewhat shocked to have the woman actually go up and talk to her one night. True, Jack was already drunk, but not so drunk that she wasn't aware of what was going on. So imagine her surprise when the woman forwent another dance with him to sitting next to her at the bar and ordering a drink.

While she was waiting, she turned to Jack, and her face showed no duplicity, no jealousy, just... curiosity.

"Can I ask you a question?" Feeling safe, because she would still be waking up to her Riddick in the morning, she saw no reason to be rude.

"Sure."

"Why doesn't it bother you to see him dancing with me and all the other girls?" The bartender gave her her drink, but she was intent on Jack's response.

"Richard and I love each other. That's all that matters. I know he loves me, so when he does stuff like that, it's no big deal. We have our rules, and we always talk about things if we want to change them, so we don't have any problems." The woman finally took a sip of her drink.

"So he can do whatever he wants as long as he still loves you?" Jack frowned, her body swaying slightly.

"Sure. When he's out there," she motioned to the dance floor, "he can do whatever he wants. I'm the one he still loves in the morning." The woman smiled at her and finished her drink.

"You're really lucky, ya know?", she said before heading back to the dance floor. Jack smiled smugly at her back, deciding she was ready to go home. Sometimes she found Riddick before she left, sometimes she did not. Assuming he was still out on the dance floor, she headed for the door, only to have strong arms snake around her waist.

"Lucy told me what you said. Did you mean it, baby?" Blinking slowly, she focused on his face and smiled at him, turning around in his arms to kiss him.

"Yep. You love me and only me, as long as that doesn't change, we can't go wrong." She smiled at the wide smile he gave her.

"Ok, baby. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you", he whispered so no one else could hear. She smiled to herself as she walked carefully home. He was still, and probably always would be slightly uncomfortable saying the words. She knew he felt them, but when he had lived most of his life without any love, he would probably never get used to saying it. So, every once in a while he would whisper it so that only she could hear. Somehow, that made it all the more special to her.

The next day she woke up and realized he was not there. Frowning, she got up and headed for the bathroom, brushing her teeth and trying to think of a reason for him not to be there. She gasped as she realized he could have been hurt at work. It had never happened before, but that just meant there would always be that first time. She spit out her toothpaste and rushed to her phone, relieved to see no messages. If he had been hurt, they would have left a message, it was the only thing she had asked him in return for not going to any of his fights. So, he was ok. She shrugged her shoulders. There was always a reason for everything he did, so she would find out what it was when he got back. Knowing that still did not help the little hurt voice in the back of her head, the one that whispered that he _always_ came home, had _never_ gone out after work. He knew he would be coming home to his Jack, who would suprise him with something different each week. Sighing, she went back into the bedroom and put away the edible massage oil, tossing it into her nightstand. He would just have to wait until next week. She busied herself around the house, growing more anxious as each hour passed. Finally, at noon, he walked into the door with flowers. For a split second, she wondered what he did wrong. He was not the flowers kind of person. He shrugged.

"'Cause I'm late. Missed your wake-up call." She watched him for any sign of guilt, but she couldn't see any. Figuring she was being paranoid and the bitchy kind of woman she swore to herself she would never be, she put it out of her mind. She accepted his reason without any hesitation. She had no reason not to.

Two weeks later, she had brushed her teeth and was getting into bed, when she heard the words that no one in a relationship wants to hear.

"Babe, I need to talk to you about something." His tone said it was serious. Ignoring the beat that her heart had skipped, she pulled the covers aside and sat on her side of the bed, pulling the covers around her. For some reason, she wanted to be covered.

"Remember two Fridays ago, when Lucy asked you why we could flirt so much and it didn't bother you?" Her mouth ran dry and her heart had officially stopped beating. Unable to get any moisture in her mouth, she nodded, knowing that he could see her movement in the dark.

"I just needed to tell you that Lucy and I slept together that night." The words bounced around in her head for a second before she could put them in an order that made sense. And then, for a reason that she would never be able to figure out, she smiled. Almost laughed. Like, it was so unexpected, so horrible that she had no choice but to do the exact opposite of what her heart was doing - screaming.

"You what," she whispered. And for the first time in her life, she was glad that she could not see his face. Especially when he cleared his throat. Always a sign of guilt.

"Well, Lucy said that you guys had talked, and that as long as I only loved you..." So many things popping into her head. Like the silences that had never been there before, his extra gentleness in bed, even when she wanted it rough. The times that she had felt that she had forgotten something, the little voice in her head that said she was missing something very important, her unease, it all made sense. It was all coming from him.

She was sure that her laughter was making him nervous, but she honestly didn't care. It was either that or put a shiv to his throat.

"So, let me get this straight. Lucy asked me why I wasn't jealous when you would dance with other women, and somehow that meant she was asking if it was ok to sleep with you? Or did she just flat out say that I said it was ok to sleep with another woman when that has always been the one limit I have ever put on you? Because I'm wondering how this could happen?" Things were starting to click in her head, her thoughts were moving much faster than her lips ever could.

"Well, I thought that was what Lucy had asked you. That's why I caught up with you before you left and made sure you were ok with it." No more smiles. Maybe not ever again. Not when her heart felt as dark as the room she was sitting in. She had not been able to look in his eyes since his confession, looking at the wall or the blanket in front of her, but now her head was too heavy to hold up. It fell into a waiting hand, propped on her knee just in case.

"Riddick, you asked me if I was sure. You never said what specifically, so I thought you were just talking about the dancing thing. Which is all I had talked to Lucy about. I don't know if she was speaking in girl code and I was too drunk to catch it, or if she just twisted my words around, but I _never once told her I was ok with you sleeping with anyone other than me._" A single thought hit her in the front of her head so hard it jerked her head up to meet his eyes for the first time. Even then she wasn't really seeing them.

"Oh, god. You knew. You felt guilty, or you wouldn't have brought me flowers. You would have told me, or thanked me, or something. But you brought me flowers and didn't say a goddamned word. You even lied about where you were. So, what? You didn't go to work that night? You went to her house or a motel or something?" One of the things they had decided early on, was that she would not yell. Her mouth got away from her, her temper said things she didn't mean, and it took her forever to calm down. He only yelled if it was life or death anyway, so they had saved themselves quite a few nasty arguments that way. This was not one of those times. She was holding to her promise not to yell. This was bad beyond yelling, bad that was beyond whispering. This was bad monotone. Bad carrying on a regular conversation, discussing the possible end of everything like they were deciding what they wanted to eat for dinner. Bad end of the world, at least hers.

"We got a motel. I didn't go to work. I came home as soon as I woke up. And yeah, once I woke up and could think past my hangover, I realized you never woulda said that. I just didn't know how to tell you." They sat in silence for several minutes. She knew he was waiting for her to say something, give him some clue as to what she was thinking. But her face felt as wooden, as empty as her chest. No, her chest hurt, like she had heartburn. But her mind was strangely calm. No thoughts. Just darkness. Like the room.

"Jack, I know I shoulda known better. That was the one rule, the only thing we were not allowed to do. I don't know how to say I'm sorry enough, I don't have any excuses. Jack, I'm so sorry. I love you." She nodded, pulling her unfocused gaze away from his face and mechanically got under the covers, her back to him. She knew he was hoping for her to say anything, to say she loved him, to yell at him, even. There were just no words in her mind or heart. She felt him snuggle up against her, an arm around her waist. She didn't resist, didn't tense up, did... nothing. When he gave up and rolled over to his side of the bed, then she let her eyes close and the darkness take over completely.

The next morning, oh god yes, the next morning she felt it. It was Friday, but she would not be going to the bar. No, she thought as she got out of bed as gingerly as if she had aged fifty years. She felt she had. She felt old, weary, only half in reality. She made coffee, realized she had been staring at the coffee pot for an hour, and took a cup to the couch to resume her staring there. Riddick didn't speak to her, but he was there. Not too close, not avoiding her, but hovering in-between. And always watching. She really could not claim to have any conscious thought, instead letting the back of her mind deal with it for her. She might have spent the whole day like that if not for a beep on her computer. She automatically went to check it, seeing that she had a job. She went to get dressed, taking her clothes into the bathroom to get dressed for the first time in years. Somehow, when she heard the door click shut, she snapped. No screaming, no crying, no anger. No, she saw them, saw HER Riddick slamming his dick into that woman, saw her sucking HIS dick, saw them moaning and screaming as they came together. Not her and Riddick. Lucy and Riddick. Oh, the things she was seeing. Did he lick her, suck on Lucy the same way he had learned worked Jack into a frenzy? Did he have her lick his balls, suck on them both at the same time, something he never knew he liked until Jack had tried it? Did he bite her nipples hard, like Jack liked when she was in a rough mood? She bet they were rough that night. Did he bite her shoulder, did she bite him? That was something she considered special, but then she thought everything about sex with Riddick was special. Now it would never be special. None of it would. He had fucked another woman, kissed another woman with the same lips Jack had kissed for the last two weeks, had made Lucy scream his name, had probably called out hers, so no, she could consider nothing they did 'hers' any more. His body was no longer hers, his heart, not even those lips she had loved to explore for hours. Just thinking about touching her tongue to his, when it had probably been inside another woman, touching another woman's clit, made her stomach jump. She had to breathe for long minutes before she knew she would not throw up. No, he was tainted, corrupted. He belonged to another now, whether he realized it or not.

She looked at her own reflection in the mirror, and had to admit what she had always thought would be the one thing she didn't have to worry about. She wasn't enough for him. Yes, he loved her. Yes, as much as it hurt to be honest, she still loved him. But she was not enough of a woman to keep him satisfied. They had enough sex, so maybe she had just lost his interest. He needed new experiences, with new people. Maybe he just wasn't meant to be a one woman man. If that was it, that was not her problem. They had agreed to the rules, and he had never broken them before. She wanted to write it off as a one-time mistake, a series of events that just happened to conspire into this creating this horrible situation, but that did not explain his lie. His omission for two weeks. He knew he had done wrong. He had cheated on her, and she had told him **before** they had ever done anything, she had been very clear when she promised to disappear if he once chose to not keep it in his pants. Those had been her exact words, '_keep it in your pants or I'm gone_.' Well, time to do one last job and she was gone. Did she want to go, no. The thought made her chest tighten, made her want to hyperventilate, made her scared for the first time since they were on that planet. She wanted nothing more than to climb into his arms and talk their way through this. But he had lied to her. If his conscience had not compelled him to tell her (and she was assuming that was why he had told her), she would never have found out. She would never have known. That was why she could not stay. There was no going back from being lied to for two weeks. Besides, he couldn't have been too drunk, because he was supposed to work that night. So some part of him had to have known, before they left the bar and after he had asked Jack, that it wasn't right. That something wasn't right. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect, but not fucking another woman is a very big, and easy-to-do, mistake to avoid. It's simple. Don't fuck another woman. She couldn't forgive that.

Her mind made up, she got dressed and noticed her laptop bag was in the bathroom. She never brought it into a room with running water. Yet, it was sitting on the toilet, all the extra pockets discretely full of toiletries. She wanted to be shocked, but she wasn't. Somewhere in her mind she had known she was leaving. Turning her bathroom light off for the last time, she carried her bag into the living room of the apartment, noting that he had been watching TV, but was now regarding her with as close to fear as she thought Riddick was capable of.

"I have a job. I don't know how long it will take." She almost said she would be back later, out of habit, but she couldn't lie to him. She wouldn't. He would figure it out eventually. He hadn't given her the respect to tell her he had fucked up right away, so she wasn't going to tell him she was leaving. It's not like she hadn't told him the consequences long ago. His not remembering was not her problem. She grabbed her purse, her coat, and her keys, looked at him solemnly one last time, and walked out the door. She knew he would not try to get a hug or a kiss, or anything from her right now. He was probably very wary and not looking forward to the blow-up he expected to happen. She smiled wryly as she pulled her apartment key off her key ring and placed it silently on the doormat. If she had screamed and yelled, if there had been some emotion left, then they could have possibly worked it out. But she felt nothing.

She sat in her little bunk, unable to remember the last job she had done. It couldn't have been that hard, apparently. Then she had gone to the port, booked the first passage out, and she was gone. She wasn't really sure where she was going; she would have to look at her ticket. All she knew was that... she didn't know anything. She had thought she had life all figured out, the big stuff at least. Riddick had been all the big stuff. The little stuff had never really mattered. But now she was faced with existence as a heartbroken woman, alone. She didn't even know if Riddick would try to come after her. She laughed out loud, listening to the bitter sound bouncing off the walls of her tiny room. Maybe he would assume she wanted some time alone, maybe he would spend some more time with Lucy to try and forget, maybe he would believe that she was keeping her word, that she was gone. And yes, the small part of her that had no shame, didn't understand the word pride, that part wanted him to come find her. But she had to do this for herself. She had to keep her word. He had put her in this situation, and she had to keep the promise she had made to both of them. Even if she never felt true happiness again.


	2. New beginnings or a hampster wheel?

They're not mine, but we all know that.

A/N: I have gotten quite a few questions as to the title. I had said that it was based on a true story, the beginning part. In real life, the one nighter's name was Penny. She had been a friend, but for obvious reasons, she was never quite able to look me in the face afterwards. Go figure.

Life sucked rotten eggs. She wanted to stay on autopilot, but she needed a place to stay, to set up more jobs here, to get the word out of where she was working. She tried looking at places in the projects, apartments so crammed they were like hives, even higher-end parts of town, but none of them had what she needed. Finally, she found a vacant warehouse while roaming around town, and after breaking into it, she knew it was what she wanted. Renting a rusty, broken down warehouse was surprisingly cheap, which worked well for her. It needed work before she would feel safe in it. But it did have the one thing that she needed: an escape route. A trap door, easily covered by a rug, led straight down into the sewers, from which she could go in multiple directions. Practically impossible to track in that much shit and water.

She spent the next six months working and decorating. Work definitely took up most of her time, but she was still able to wire up trip alarms and get the odd coffee maker and such. And every night she cried herself to sleep. At first it was painful to be by herself, alone for the first time in years. That alone was scary. You get used to having someone around, someone to talk to a few times a day, someone to give you a hug when you need it (even if he'd rather not). The last person she had spoken more than a business conversation to was Riddick, which wasn't helping with her loneliness. But she knew she was ok with that, it just took a little time to get used to it again. Funny, how some people could not live without human interaction. She never understood it. Half the time, people were just in it to hurt you. She could take or leave them; friends were great and to be enjoyed when she had them, but she could also drop them on a dime, as she had when she left Riddick. If it would help her survive, there was very little she would not cut off from.

She knew when the anger at Riddick hit, because she had bought gym equipment and a punching bag. She refused to cry at that point, she would merely wrap up her wrists and hands, write Riddick's name on a piece of paper to be taped on her bag, and beat the shit out of it until the paper was mulch. Usually it would be his name, but other times it would be difficult clients. Sometimes Lucy. Fuckin' bitch.

It was at the end of that period, which was 6 body fat less and two pant sizes smaller, that she realized he wasn't coming. Yes, she had tried to cover her tracks, but no one could hide from Riddick if he wanted to find you. She acknowledged that it was slightly hypocritical to be upset that he wasn't trying to find her, as she had left him, but the fact that he hadn't come looking for her felt like another rejection. Like it wasn't worth his time to try and resolve anything, to even talk to her. She felt like there was a bloody stump on her body still spurting blood, but apparently he had chopped his off cleanly and moved on. And oh, the anger. Not just at him, because her anger was too much to confine to one man. No, all men were responsible, for all men acted the same way. She had to replace her punching bag three times in a month, and none of her clients were male. Nope, she was done. Not ready to become a lesbian, perhaps, but definitely an atheist concerning the religion of men.

And then one day she woke up and realized every facet of her life for the last six months had been centered around him. The pain _he_ was causing, the loss of the relationship with _him_, how much she missed _him_. She woke up laughing at how pathetic she had become. Yes, she figured most women went through it; everyone mourns something valuable when they lose it. But six months was ridiculous. She was Jack, for fuck's sake. Jack who survived the planet, Jack who grew up in convict's world without getting caught. Because she survived. She was taught by the best, and just because he fucked her over - fucked someone else over and over, actually - didn't mean she wanted to become some sniveling excuse of estrogen. **Fuck. That**. She spent all day cleaning the warehouse, opening windows, cleaning outside to help her clean inside herself. Setting all her alarms and packing an overnight bag, she decided to get out for a day, to finally be out among the living.

Hours later, she tried not to laugh at herself every time she passed a window. What does every woman she had ever met do when breaking up with a man? Get a new hair cut. Riddick had liked her hair long, and it had been very long. Handle bars, he had called them once as he had wrapped her hair around both his fists and used them for leverage. Now, it was cut to the middle of her neck, her bangs pulled all to one side. With the looks she had been getting from men, she had to admit it looked good. And oh, would he hate it. Bonus. She was walking down a main strip, looking in windows for the sake of simply window shopping, when she passed a tattoo shop. And stopped dead. She looked inside, seeing the grizzly man with blue dred locks and skin that was either tattooed or pierced, and realized that the hair cut wasn't enough. New-Jack-all-over was apparently called for. See, she was never allowed to get a tattoo when running with Riddick, as it would just serve to easily identify her as his companion. But she was no longer with Riddick, and there had never been a bounty for Riddick's companion, so why not? She stepped inside and let a very Jack-esque grin across her face. Yes, today she was cleansing inside and out.

Scratching and whining coming from her bedroom door finally woke her up. She looked through her tall glass windows at the sunrise. God bless waterfront property. After a minute of stretching to get out the kinks from sleeping, she hopped out of bed and put on socks and shoes. Much as she wished she could have been one of those people who could afford to wear slippers, she wasn't. She wanted to make sure that if she ever had to grab the dogs and run, she wouldn't be running through the sewers in slippers. Ewww. She opened the door and was instantly surrounded by two Rottweilers she had saved from the pound.

"Yes, yes, yes. I know you guys need to go. I'm coming!" She jogged to the door and let them out, watching as they headed for the beach. Smiling as they chased each other, she turned on her coffee maker and headed for the exercise area. The nice thing about living with no walls, except for the bedroom and bathroom, was that there was nowhere for someone to hide. She went through her morning exercise routine of stretching and basic military exercises, before heading for caffeine. Turning on her computer as she waited for her coffee to cool down a little, she took a look at her schedule.

"Ok, the weasel-guy job at ten, Ozaki-san at noon, vet for the boys at three, and that's it. Hmm. Short day. Maybe I'll take the boys out for a little hunting tonight, then." One edge of her mouth quirked at her version of hunting, but it served a purpose.

The thing she loved most about living on Wakiakum Minor was that it was boring. There were no valuable mining deposits, no rare or exotic plants or animals to make it special. It was a small planet out in the middle of nowhere. People kept to themselves, solved their problems on their own, and if the rest of the universe went to hell, well they still had things to do. It was common knowledge that at least half of the population was ex-cons, but they were small timers, and were just looking for a chance to live their lives the way they should. It's not like there was anything worth stealing, anyway.

Jack also loved the fact that only half of the planet was settled. Huge areas were still untouched, and most people wanted it to stay that way. So once a week, she would take her dogs and they would go exploring in one of the forested areas. She looked forward to it, it was time that she didn't have to think about anything other than being outside with her boys.

"OK, guys, you know the drill. Stay." They obediently sat and waited while she took off running. She took off at an easy pace that covered ground quickly, giving them ten minutes before whistling sharply between her fingers. Taking off at a dead run, she crossed a stream, followed it for a few feet, and then jumped back in, heading away in the hopes of losing them. Once her shoes were soaked, she jumped back out and headed for a field she saw through the trees, knowing there would be less for her brush up against with her scent in a field than in heavy woods. Her lungs were starting to burn, so she slowed down just a little bit, looking over her shoulder to see if they had caught up with her yet. She stopped for a moment, gradually coming to a stop, grinning like a fool. She knew they would be catching up to her any minute now, and then she would have to put everything she had into it. Her grin faded when she heard a yelp that sounded like a dog's. When she heard another, louder this time, she took off at a dead run, noting the direction it was coming from. She threw herself in-between trees, not caring how much noise she made at that point. Hearing a loud growl, she pulled her shiv from her holster at her back and saw a large animal. While she was familiar with the wild animals that lived in the woods, she had never seen one in person before. Hoping her dogs weren't seriously injured, she slowed down and got a closer look at the animal. It was an Eufaula, similar to a bear, but with jaws that extended like a shark's. A quick look at her dogs showed that they were defending someone who looked to be injured. From the lack of blood on them, she figured they had only suffered cuts, nothing serious.

"Mako, Delios!" Once she had their attention, she made a single hand gesture before having to retreat as the Eufaula started to charge her. Her dogs immediately maneuvered themselves in-between and lured it away. She kept very still, not wanting it to realize she was going to creep up behind it. Moving slowly, she crouched down behind the massive beast and launched herself into the air. Hearing her, it swung around, its' jaws aimed at her head. As she arched her back to give her more power, she slammed her shiv down onto its' head before the jaws could connect, piercing the skull. She heard her clothes ripping as she fell away, felt the claws scratching her skin, and rolled to her feet. She reached down for her spare shiv in her shoe, watching it warily. The dogs were completely silent, waiting. The Eufaula swayed for a moment, as if to go back down to all four paws, the body merely collapsing to the ground. She let the dogs sniff it warily, and turned to check out the person they had been protecting. It took her a moment, as the person was quite a few feet away and hidden behind a log. She carefully rolled the person over, noting it had to be a man by the sheer size of him, and checked his body for wounds under the many layers of clothing he was wearing. Seeing only a slice that would need stitches on his back, she looked up into his face, expecting to see one of the homeless people that lived in the woods. Instead, she looked at a very familiar face, with a broad nose and generous mouth, complete with bald head and goggles.

Riddick.

"Fuck."


	3. You're mine, Jack

As always, I don't own. I did have a dream last night that I could lease them, with an option to buy, but then I woke up. Sigh.

He opened his eyes and took a careful, appraising look around. He saw he was lying on a military cot, the kind you can fold up into a pack. His surroundings seemed to be a warehouse, which did not set him at ease. He was not bound, so he decided to pass judgment after taking a look around. Sitting up made him conscious of the gash across his back, which felt like it had been stitched. That and the fact that it felt like someone had stepped on his head repeatedly. The last thing he could remember was flying through the air and seeing a tree headed for him, or he was heading for the tree, actually. He assumed he connected with it, as his thoughts felt a little fuzzy, like he needed caffeine to wake up. He did not remember seeing any other person, just hearing the dogs. Whoever owned them must have brought him back and patched him up. Now just to find out who that was, and if he was going to let them live.

It was the middle of the day, so shadows would not be something he could use in the open area. He noticed that his impromptu bedroom was closed off by a series of standing screens, so he slowly moved one that was close to the wall, taking a quick look around. He saw the two dogs that he recognized from the woods, but no people. Inching along the wall, he approached the dogs, relieved to see that they seemed indifferent to his presence. While not the response he had ever gotten from dogs, it was reassuring to see them remain silent. He puzzled over their lack of submission to him for only a moment before heading for the only room in the warehouse. He got to the door without hearing anyone inside, but once at the door he could hear the soft sounds of someone sleeping. Female. His hand approached the door knob, and he was yanked backwards by both dogs. They had their jaws firmly clamped down on his clothes and arms, and while they had attacked silently, he could feel the threat coming from them. He hit the floor on his back, his grunt of pain drowned out by the slapping sound of his body hitting the concrete. Not a loud sound by any standards, but the bedroom door was flung open a second later. The dogs immediately released him and took positions in-between him and the owner. Still amazed at their behavior, he looked up. And forgot to think for a second.

Jack.

She stood in the doorway with the sun shining behind her. She wore Asian-style pajamas, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail behind her head, but there was no mistaking the fact that Jack had been the one to pull him out of the woods. He stood up, noting that her dogs had not done any damage to his arms, just bit down hard enough to pull him away. She had spent a lot of time training them. He was mildly impressed. First, they didn't cower before him like every other dog he had ever met had, and they knew to keep anyone from her bedroom without injuring them. Interesting.

He tried to read her emotions, assuming it would be as easy as it had always been in the past. In every- day life, her face did not hide much. This, apparently, was no longer the case. Her face was naturally neutral, as though she were used to keeping her thoughts to herself. This was not the Jack he knew. Granted, it had been almost a year since she had left, but he didn't think the changes would have been so... drastic...

"Hello, Riddick." She broke him out of his thoughts with her soft greeting. And for the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do. He had never felt awkward before - ever. But then, a lot of the firsts in his life were associated with Jack. He stood up slowly, testing his back before deciding it would be fine eventually. He noticed the dogs tense almost imperceptibly, and was surprised that she noted it as well. A casual hand signal had them relaxing and going off to do something else. She headed for the kitchen, pulling two cups out of one of the cupboards.

"Still take your coffee the same?" He nodded and waited for her to hand her his coffee. She slid it across the counter, keeping the island between them.

"You have a way off-planet? 'Cause no one here does." _Please say yes, please say yes._ She felt so many things at one time that she could barely tell them apart. Anger, loneliness, resentment, irony, happiness, despair, they were all there and clouding her mind. She knew if she spent enough time around him, things would start to become confused. She'd start to think about what it could be like to get back into his life, let him into hers. Maybe having a one-night stand wouldn't be so bad. She hadn't been laid since him. He would do it. And then she would start wanting to take him back, forgive him for what happened. She could see herself becoming one of _those_ women, who always take their man back, no matter what he does.

Well, fuck that.

"Yeah. Just stopped here for a quick job on my way to Talus Prime."

"Who was it?" The name he gave her was someone she didn't know, so she shrugged in dismissal. She rinsed out her coffee cup, looking at her watch.

"Look, I've got someone coming in half an hour, so I'll call you a cab. Lemme know if you need the creds; I didn't see your wallet laying around out there. Maybe the next time you're in the system, you can give me a head's up and we can spend the day together or something." She headed for her phone, but was stopped by his hand on her arm. She arched an eyebrow as she looked down at his hand until he removed it. He took a step back, rubbing his hands over his head in aggravation.

"Jesus, Jack, you're treating me like a friend that moved away and you just happened to see walking down the street!" She could see he was prepared to say a lot more, so she cut him off before he could get into shouting mode.

"Riddick, please. I don't have time to go into this right now, and it doesn't sound like you do either. I have a full schedule today, not to mention the fact that I'm trying to build a new life, so please don't do this right now, not when we can't get into it. Just take the cab and go." She was proud of her calm and normal voice, but it failed her on the last sentence. She couldn't deal with this, not now. Maybe not ever. It had taken her too long to accept the fact that he wasn't looking for her; it wasn't fair that he found her by complete luck.

His face got dark at the mention of a new life, and he towered over her, invading her personal space until they were almost touching.

"What's his name?" She looked up at him in confusion.

"Who's name? What are you talking about?"

"What is the name of the guy you're seeing? You trying to replace me, pretend we never happened?!," he gritted through his teeth. Her eyes widened, trying to suppress the desire to hold a few of his teeth in her hand, or perhaps his balls. Yeah, detaching his balls from his body sounded good right about then. Instead, she calmly took a step back, daring him with her eyes to crowd her again.

"I'm not seeing anyone, Riddick. Honestly, I've kinda lost the desire to give that much of myself to anyone, ever again. It's too risky. I have the dogs, and I see people when I go for supplies, and my clients of course. I'm pretty sure I'm as happy as I'm gonna get, so please just go. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to help pass the time, so just go have a good life, and leave me to live mine." He took a few steps back, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at her through his goggles. She sighed, knowing that particular stance.

"I'll be back after my next job. Like it or not, you are mine, Jack. I've spent the last nine months taking jobs on different planets, looking for you. I'm contracted for the next one, then I'll be back here to discuss things with you." She opened her mouth to protest, to tell him that there was no longer anything to discuss, but he turned his back on her and left. She sat down on the floor, hugging her dogs when they nudged her arms.

"Well, guys, I guess our lives just got a whole lot more complicated. It was nice while it lasted, huh?" They whined, squirming in her arms.

"Too bad we can't run. Double fuck."


	4. Pissing off the Devil

Ok, folks, it's going to be getting kinda rough. Thank God I haven't bought Jack, because if I tried to return her, the clerk would laugh.

Call it morbid curiosity. Call it lack of closure, which she thought she had gotten, by the way. Call it watching her back, as anyone who came in contact with Riddick was at risk of merc visitors, as well. However she justified it to herself, the same day he left she was on the networks and searching. Not for him, but for Lucy. She was the weak link, and if she had any brains at all, she could have figured out who Riddick was and turned him in. If that was the case, they would come looking for her eventually. Maybe a lot later, but they would come. She did NOT look because she was curious to see if Riddick had kept her after she took off. Nope. Totally unrelated.

Yeah.

Seems Lucy died while in protective custody. Custody provided by bounty hunters. Seems Lucy was owner of some information about an underground, illegal fight club, seeing as she had slept with one of the fighters. While Jack had to concede that she could have been referring to Riddick, Lucy was a skank, so Jack would not put it past Lucy to have slept with several of the fighters. But where it got interesting is that Lucy's brother was the famous 'Black' Clarke, one of the best mercs around. A merc who apparently had no problem killing his own kind when it came to family. All of the bounty hunters listed in connection with Lucy were reported dead within a month of Lucy's death, all neatly explained and believable. Except it felt too much like revenge for Jack's taste. So now what Jack needed to know was, had Lucy figured out who Riddick was, and had the bounty hunters beaten it out of her? And had Riddick felt enough for Lucy to need revenge for her death? Maybe she would just stick with the first question. The second was one she was not prepared to live with if the answer was yes.

Either way, she knew it was only prudent to make sure all her escape plans were up and running. She chuckled to herself at the fact that she could possibly have to take off once again without letting Riddick know.

Light filtered in through her windows, waking her gradually as sunrise became daytime. She finally opened her eyes and stretched luxuriously her arms and legs before sitting up and hopping out of bed. She had dressed for the day, combed her hair, and was halfway through applying the little bit of makeup she used, before she realized that the boys had not been scratching or whining to be let out. That was a first. Dropping her mascara, she pulled on socks and shoes, tied her hair back, and grabbed her emergency bag. Either the dogs had detoured from their daily schedule because of a specific reason, or because of someone. She pulled the bag over her shoulders and pulled out a handgun from her underwear drawer. Cracking the door open, she scanned quickly for any sign of people, her eyes drawn to the sight of blood dragged across the floor to a far corner of the building. Not knowing for sure if it was the blood of an intruder, or her beloved boys, she opened the door and left it wide open, her access to the sewers open and in a clear line to the door. She walked slowly into the main part of the warehouse, her eyes trained on the blood trail but watching for any movement or shapes that didn't belong. Twenty feet was enough to establish that Mako was dead, his body dragged into the shadows. A barely audible whine caused her to slowly rotate her head in the direction of the kitchen. Delios poked his head out from underneath the island, his left ear torn and bleeding. A quick hand movement had him at her side in a second, when she turned and ran for the bedroom. Sound exploded around her immediately. Delios was in the bedroom ahead of her, and she slammed the door closed behind her. Sliding onto the floor, she hit the hole in the floor and landed in the sewers below in a crouch. Waiting for Delios to jump down, she pulled the access closed and took off down a corridor, mentally following the route that would take her to her stashed skiff. No one knew she had it, and she had worked hard to keep it that way. Delios was silent behind her, and she knew he would be for some time. She would mourn Mako when they were off-planet.

As she went through all the system checks, she sighed and looked at her chances objectively. Not good. With so few ships in the air, her little skiff would be easily spotted. If she was lucky and they didn't have a pilot waiting and watching on their ship, she could get away clean and get to the nearest planet to ditch the skiff for a ship. If she wasn't lucky, she would be flexing her rusty piloting skills, and hoping she could get away any way she could. Strapping Delios into the chair next to her in his custom harness, she kissed his head quickly before taking off. Heading straight up, she set her sensors to watch for any pursuit. She waited the long minutes it took to make it through the atmosphere, praying to gods she had given up on long ago for just a little luck. Seconds ticked by, ones in which she waited to hear the alarm telling her she was fucked. Somehow she made it into open space, and only then did she breathe a little easier. Turning to Delios, she took a look at his ear and decided it wasn't too bad. He could wait until they were further away, just to play it safe. Setting a course for the nearest planet, Wakiukum 4, she started to unlock her harness when the proximity alarms began blaring.

"Fuck! We were so close! Hold on, Delios. Hope you didn't have any breakfast!" She locked her harness back up and tried to maneuver away from the ship pursuing her, but it was too late. The ship shuddered as it was pulled against a merc ship. Knowing there was nothing she could do to get away for the moment, she looked to Delios.

"Stay, babe. No matter what, stay." She grabbed a few shivs she had stashed in her bag and made her way to the ramp, waiting to be boarded. As the ramp lowered, she wedged her body into an alcove. It wasn't much cover, but it might give her an extra second before being seen. As six men swarmed into her ship, she waited until the first man was right in front of her before exploding out of the alcove and slicing his throat. The next three minutes were a blur. She had no idea how many hits she took, or gave. She only knew when she hit flesh and bone, when blood spattered over her skin, and the lights suddenly went out inside. It was ok. She hadn't seriously thought she was going to win the fight anyway.

When she woke, she felt sticky. But then, she was wearing the blood of at least three men, probably four. Still didn't explain the weight on her stomach, though. She opened her eyes carefully and felt that she was strapped down to a metal table, shackles on her wrists and ankles. Her legs were bent, though, and she knew that was not good. Also, the end of the table was just past her ankles. She was afraid she would be forced to pay for her visit. Looking down her body to see if they had been having fun with her while she was still unconscious, she saw why she felt something on her stomach. It took everything inside her not to scream when she saw Delios' head sitting on her, bleeding over body. His eyes had been poked out and his canine teeth pulled. She twisted her torso, trying to roll him off her, barely able to see through her tears. She was alone, and they had killed her family. Only monsters would kill a helpless animal that couldn't even get out of the chair; she had left him strapped in. Someone walked in behind her head and laughed at the sight of her desperately trying to get Delios' head off her stomach.

"What, you don't appreciate the trouble we went to so's you could keep your dog with you? I'm hurt."

"You fucker! He couldn't move! You killed him when he couldn't even defend himself! And you call Riddick a monster, ha!" The voice walked around until he was standing beside her torso. Taking the dog by the ear, he threw his head away and leaned on her stomach, ignoring the blood that spread onto his clothes.

"Yeah, le's talk about Riddick. He was here for, what? A day? And you want me to believe that he had no contact with you, didn't tell you where he was going? Maybe even caught a quickie? Please, you've been his bitch for years, he's not gonna be on the same planet as you and not say hi. So all you gotta do is tell me what you know and maybe you can go back to yer life in one piece." His finger drew lazy circiles on her stomach, which repulsed her even through her shirt.

"Yeah, well you should talk to whoever gave you that crappy info. I've been separated from him for a year for sleeping with some other bitch. And what the hell are the chances that he happens to have a job on my planet? That's why I moved here, to stay away from him!! And of course you guys show up right after, which means someone else will, so now I'm gonna haveta leave my home and go make another, in another place I'm hoping no one will find! Jesus fuckin' Christ, I just want you and Riddick and your whole damn world to leave me the hell alone!!" His laughter brought a shocked look to her face before she settled for her neutral one.

"Darlin', that was a mighty fine speech right there. Now how about we settle for the truth? It's either tell me the truth or I let the boys in here. And they have some anger problems right now, seein's how there's a lot less of them than this morning. I'd go for the truth m'self, but I'm hopin' you don't for selfish reasons."

"Are you honestly going to believe me if I tell you the truth? Or are you just wanting me to tell you what you want to hear? Because if that's what you want me to do, which is lying by the way, then bring the boys on in, 'cause we are done here, Toombs." He looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know my name, honey?" She sneered at him, hoping beyond hope that she could provoke him. She wanted to be unconscious when the others came in, and only Toombs could help her with that.

"Well, Riddick always said you smelled like tar and dead chickens. That and the southern accent that is, quite frankly, horrible. Did you take lessons, or you just come by your total lack of charm naturally. Personally, I'd rather fuck the tar and dead chickens." He tried to keep his anger from showing, but she could see that his jaw was clenching.

"I'm sorry, did I say something that upset you? I didn't mean to. I'm just trying to be honest. Now, I'm really hoping that you guys are only planning on beating the shit out of me, because there's no way that sex with you could compare with Riddick. Which's kinda sad. Sex with a convicted murderer that likes to drink blood on occasion, who probably doesn't know the meaning of gentle, will always be better than anything you could do with your clumsy hands and pencil limp-dick. Kharma just hates you, don't it? When was the last time you had sex that wasn't rape or bought, Toombs?" She had to work hard not to laugh at the rising color in his face. He was getting close, but she needed to push him over the edge. She could deal with the aftermath a lot better if she didn't have any memories of it.

"Personally, I think it makes sense. If you're raping a woman, they're probably too scared or in too much pain to realize you can't really even physically rape someone anyway. Gotta have a dick of more than an inch or two to do that. And if you bought it, well, it's just like a breather for the hooker. She gets paid, doesn't feel a thing, and she gets to rest her pussy 'cause you're not really using it. Hell, if you tried to do that to me, neither of us would feel it because Riddick's so big, you'd never even touch the sides of me anyway. See, Riddick's stretched me a little, so it takes a man of a certain size to even feel it to begin with. Maybe you should stop and pick up a hooker. Oh, wait, they're all stretched out too. God, how do you get laid, Toombs?" With an inhuman scream, he threw himself at her and began pounding her with his fists. She merely laughed at him, as well as she could in-between blows.

"C'mon, Toombs. You're a merc! Stop hitting like a girl!" Anything else she may have wanted to say was gargled over the blood in her throat. She wasn't conscious for long.


	5. Preparation H, or, I finally found her

A/N: Ok, guys, I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I've been in the ER since Tuesday. I'm restricted to bed for the next week, so if it's about a week before I get another chap done, I'm sorry. Just wanted to let you guys know it might happen. Don't worry, though, I won't let too much time go by.

This chapter is graphic. If you have a problem with rape, explicit or not, please feel free to skip this chapter and if you let me know, I'll try to draw up a clean version. Just so we are being clear, as much as I personally like Toombs, this is a very nasty chapter, and has nothing to do with the best in people.

If you're squeamish, please refrain from reading this chapter. This is the official, big warning: THIS IS AN EXPLICIT CHAPTER. IF THIS BOTHERS YOU, DO NOT READ IT. IF YOU THINK IT MIGHT BOTHER YOU, PLEASE CHOOSE NOT TO READ IT. Again, if you want, I can write up a cleaner chapter so you won't miss anything.

I know everyone is probably getting tired of me hurting Jack, just don't forget that this is a romance primarily. While I don't do the whole happy ever after, riding off into the sunset kind of endings, there will be a happy one. Just have faith that for all the shit she is going through, I will make it worth it in the end. Oh, and to JacklynK, I have gone over this and the future chapters for Riddick talk. Let me know if I need to alpha it up some more.

Here's the token not mine.

* * *

The mind is such a fragile thing. It can be lost, you can lose yourself in it, and you can break it. So many ways for things to go wrong. Especially when you have nothing but time.

She could barely remember her name. She knew it sounded like a guy's name, like Mark or Billy, or something. And she knew the guys on the ship. There was usually at least one of them around her at all times, outside her door. Sometimes there would be a new face, or an old one would disappear, but after a while it never mattered that she try and keep them apart. She could remember very little from BEFORE, like her life was put into two categories, the BEFORE and the NOW. The NOW was pretty full of memories and happenings. Not so much with the BEFORE. She had tried to remember some of it, but there were no specifics, no clear pictures. Just pain. Emotional, horrible pain, like she lost her family or something. And there was a lot of it. Some of it felt very old, some like it happened yesterday, like she was told to do something yesterday and couldn't remember what it was. She couldn't really remember any happiness, so if the BEFORE only had pain, then she couldn't be missing all that much, right?

Every day was the same. The routine was what kept her sane, kept her from constantly remembering that she didn't know who she was. She would wake up in the morning, whenever they came in with her breakfast, and eat. Usually the guy bringing breakfast got to use her however he saw fit, but she had long since shut off her mind when it came to things like that. It was routine. Then she would practice what she thought was a form of martial arts, but she didn't know what it was called. Her body remembered, so she did it every day, twice a day. Enough to keep her in shape, considering that she never left her little room. It was just big enough for a bed, toilet, sink, and tub. Then at lunch, someone would bring in lunch, always a different guy. Again, time to shut off for a while. Then more martial arts, and wait for dinner. Dinner was bad. Usually the guys would use her before she ate, just in case they were rough or into stuff that tended to cause her to vomit her breakfast up. A certain amount of pain will do that. But dinner was torture. Toombs, the only man she knew by name, would always make her eat first. The consequences for throwing up her dinner... well, she had only done that once. That was something she never thought about. Then Toombs would use her body for however long he felt like. Then the real pain began. She never complained, always did as he told her to, but she still got the feeling that everything Toombs did to her was personal. He was punishing her for something, she just couldn't remember what. No matter how many times she said she was sorry, pleaded for forgiveness, it just seemed to make it worse. Something else she couldn't understand. But pain she understood. He was very careful not to leave scars, not to permanently disable her, but everything else was up for grabs. She had no idea how many times she had screamed until she was hoarse as he took a small knife and cut thousands of tiny cuts all over her body, or when he would bend arms and legs until they were almost ready to break... and leave her that way for hours. Another reason she had to practice every day, or she would probably be crippled by now. The days she dreaded the most were when he invited all the guys and they would take her any way they could, all at once. And he would just stand in a corner with a blank look on his face, as if he were watching a show that was barely keeping his attention.

She could always tell when they docked somewhere; she would wake up with a hangover from whatever drugs they forced into her. No matter how many times she had asked why they kept her, what purpose she served by being there, no one would tell her. If she was their slave, or Toombs' slave, she would have understood. But they weren't allowed to say anything. If it wasn't a moan or a statement of which position they wanted her in, they weren't allowed to open their mouths around her.

* * *

Sixteen months. Sixteen months he had been tracking Toombs, sixteen months since he had gone back to her home to find a dead dog and no Jack. Word had travelled around the merc community that Toombs had something of his, at least that's what all the mercs he killed told him before they died. While Toombs wasn't a rocket scientist, he was smart enough to keep moving. What worried him was that Toombs was sick as fuck. He hid it well, but he was a sadist. He just couldn't figure out why he hadn't tried to catch him yet. Toombs obviously wanted him to know he had Jack, so why the year and a half chase? Besides the fact that he could do whatever to her, whenever. Every day he was a step behind, and every day he worried that when he finally got Jack back, she wouldn't be Jack. He could have lost her a long time ago and never known it. He just had to be patient. Eventually, something would happen. Toombs would have to make repairs, or they would run out of money, and that's all he needed. Just one break, one chance to catch up, one time where they couldn't be on planet and gone within the hour. Then he would get his Jack back. That's all that mattered to him now, that was the only reason he got up in the morning, ate food, and trained. To be ready to get her back. Never shoulda let her out of his sight. Should have taken off after her as soon as he realized she had split. Sure, he understood why she did it, that's why he had given her a few months before trying to track her down. All the hurt feelings, the guilt, the loneliness, none of that mattered. He wouldn't even think about the future, except as having Jack. Nothing else was important but her. And he would not let her go this time. No, she was only safe when he was there. She would see he was right. Because she was his, and he never let go of what was his.

He would never admit it to anyone, not Jack, not even himself - but he missed her. He just wanted her back in one piece.

* * *

She knew something was different. Usually when she woke up with a pounding headache, they had been in space for a few hours. But she was not in space. She wasn't even in the ship. And she didn't have a headache, although her jaw hurt, like someone had punched her out. She was in a bed, a nice bed actually, in a room she had never seen before. It had a door, and a separate room with the toilet and sink and tub. Must be a motel. She wasn't tied to the bed, and no one was there. Feeling very alone, she stood up and checked out the room. The door was locked on the outside, but this didn't really surprise her. Like they were just going to give away their toy. She let the brief flare of anger pass over her before looking out the window. She could see buildings and streets, but while they were novel to her, she knew better than to try and escape. Where would she go? How would she live, or eat? The room was so quiet, unlike a ship that always made some sort of noise. A shiver went down her back and she climbed back into the covers. Her routine was broken, and no one had awoken her, she was in a strange place... None of this could be good. She curled up along the headboard and watched the door, knowing something was going on. Something bad.

"Toombs, you sure he's gonna find us? I mean, why in the hell have you kept her for so long when you knew Riddick has been trying to get back?"

"'Cause, you dumb shit, I've been playing with my toy until I got tired of her. And I'm tired of her. She's done broken, so I'll snatch Riddick and kill off the damn bitch. Makes fer a fine day, if you ask me. So go find a hooker or something, 'cause Riddick shouldn't be here for another coupla hours."

She had noticed the side door, but assumed it was locked as well. Toombs was not careless with her. It still startled her when the door burst open and Toombs walked in, his face that scary blank that always terrified her.

"Well, Darlin', it's time to play for the last time. Be a good girl and scream for daddy, ok?" He grabbed her head and smashed it into the headboard a few times until he heard the wood crack. Throwing her off the bed, he ordered her to strip. She quickly complied; this was another routine that was gone. He was different from all the other times he had tortured her. Everything was different, and it scared her shitless.

A knife appeared in his hand and he took a quick swipe at her, slicing open her cheek. Her hand instinctively covered the cut, her eyes wide and questioning. He grabbed her hair and threw her against the bed so that only her upper torso was on the bed. On his knees behind her, he yanked open his pants and stroked himself with one hand while grabbing her hair in a grip so tight it was painful with the other. He shoved her face into the mattress as he thrust into her ass. Unprepared in more than one way, she screamed bloody murder into the mattress, trying to pull herself up on the bed and away from him. He yanked her head back, snapping it painfully, before shoving her face back into the mattress. She huffed around the cover, trying to breathe. The only time she could get any air was when he thrust into her, moving her face. She gasped, hyperventilating, unable to decide if the lack of air or the tearing below the waist was worse. Tears poured out of her eyes as her hair was pulled out by its' roots. Toombs began to thrust violently inside her, snapping his hips. He pulled her head back as far as her back would arch, one hand covering her mouth as she screamed. A small smile graced his features at the sound of her pain, the continuous slapping sound as he crushed her hips against the bed, and feeling of blood dripping down their bodies.

His smile became a full-blown grin when the door imploded and showed an infuriated Riddick standing in the doorway.

"Get your fucking hands off her NOW!" The last word was almost unrecognizable except as a roar, but the menace radiating off of him was not. Toombs yanked on her head, pulling her up and against his body as he rotated them around to face Riddick.

"Now why would I want to do that, Riddick? I'm not suicidal. And yer early. Didn't expect you for another hour. Yer cutting short my play time." Riddick took a step into the room and Toombs pulled out a gun, putting it to her head. The other hand was wrapped around her waist, steadying her on his thighs as he continued to move inside her. Toombs could see that Riddick was fighting with himself, not wanting Toombs to blow her head off her neck, but not wanting to allow him to continue to rape her. Toombs could feel himself get harder as confusion settled in. They both knew Jack would never let someone do this to her, but only Toombs knew that she was no longer Jack. The idea of raping Riddick's woman while he was standing in front of him, the idea that Riddick could do nothing about it, was more than Toombs could handle. He let go of her waist and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back brutally. Locking eyes with Riddick, he pushed the gun into her ear as hard as he could, his rhythm increasing. Riddick could only watch in horror as Jack did nothing to stop Toombs from slamming his hips into her again and again. Her screams echoed off the walls of the room, her eyes shut tightly against the tears leaking down her face. Riddick's fists clenched when he saw her hands digging bloody, deep scratches up her thighs, anything to distract herself from the agony being inflicted on her. He had to close his eyes when he heard Toombs grunt, turning his head away from the sight and knowledge that Toombs had just degraded her in the worst possible way to degrade any human being. He could hear his blood pounding in his veins, and it took every ounce of his control not to move, to hear the symphony of snapping bones, to rip Toombs' throat out with his teeth and taste the blood. Only when he heard Toombs' laughter did he look back. Toombs still had her hair wrapped around his fist, and he showed no intention of moving her away from his lap. The beast inside was screaming, throwing itself on its' restraints, howling for the death of the man who had taken and hurt its' mate. It took several breaths that came out as snorts through his nose, before he felt in control enough to deal with Toombs. He knew that if he let his emotions take over, if he didn't think with a cool head, he wouldn't be any good to her, would probably get her killed. He needed to think straight to be able to fuck with Toombs' mind, and that was the only way he was going to get her back. But first thing's first. Riddick's eyes roamed over Jack, looking for any immediate injuries, besides the obvious. He frowned when he looked into her eyes and saw fear, pain, and no recognition. Between the acceptance of what Toombs had been doing to her, and the fact that she didn't seem to know who he was, he knew he was at a disadvantage. He needed to maneuver the situation back under his control. Like Toombs had when he forced him to stand and watch... this. He decided to provoke Toombs just a little, get the conversation started. He knew Toombs loved to gloat, so if he could get him to start talking, he would know what happened to Jack. If Jack would be able to help him at all... if she was even still Jack. He took one smooth step forward.

"Now, just hold it there, Rid. I like you right where you are. I'm gonna put a bullet into her head, but I don't plan on doing it until you're all shackled up. And she won't be any help to you, 'cause I took the precaution of making Jack go away. This little lady doesn't even have a name. So what's it gonna be? You gonna come along quietly, or should I just paint the walls with her blood right now?" Riddick ignored him, looking into her eyes.

"Jack? You with me?" She merely looked at him, her face showing her in a near panic, but there was no recognition to her name. Rage seemed to shimmer around him as he had to deal with his ultimate fear: Jack was gone. He focused on Toombs, who was still behind her, still inside her, but making no movements at the moment.

"What the fuck did you do to her, Toombs?" Toombs merely laughed and thrust up into her again, causing her to arch away from the pain, another cry escaping her.

"I told ya, Riddick. I took Jack away. First I killed those stupid dogs of hers, made sure she saw them, then I killed her. Sure, her body's still here, but that's it. So why don't you put the shackles on and I'll go ahead and put this mindless bitch outta her misery?" Riddick's eyes closed for a moment.

"You killed Mako and Delios? Even I wouldn't kill animals, you sick piece of shit." A gasp escaped her, and she held their focus for a moment, both men looking at her. Only Riddick could see her face, and it gave him hope.

* * *

She knew Toombs was trying to break her. He told her exactly what he had planned, knowing she would eventually forget it in all the pain he was inflicting on her. Someone as sick as Toombs knew what he was doing; he had been practicing on convicts for years. She also knew that she would probably break. No one was truly invincible, maybe not even Riddick. So, she came up with a back-up plan. Let him break her.

She had always thought ancient Earth history was fascinating. The things those people had thought up, and tried to create, were fantastic and imaginative. The things they did to people during time of war, equally fantastic in a how-could-you? kinda way. Knowing how well Riddick was able to manipulate his body into doing whatever he wanted, she was always curious as to what people had tried to do to the human mind. She had studied brainwashing, torture tactics (never know when she might need that in a worst-case scenario), and triggers. Triggers were the one she studied the most, as it could have so many possible uses. And not just on others. She knew the truth about what would happen to her if mercs ever caught her, ever found out who she was. She had planted a trigger in herself a long time ago, one to be used only as a last resort. If she got herself into a situation where there was no out, no possibility of surviving, or if they ever tried to use her to get the knowledge of Riddick's whereabouts (when they were still together and she actually knew), then she was perfectly willing to give her life for him. Better to die on her own terms, anyway. While she had never been in the position to have it triggered, thank God, she could only hope it had worked. Because she was going to put another in her head. One that would hopefully trigger when Riddick caught up with them. There were only three things she needed to see or hear to activate it. She was assuming that Riddick would catch up to them and kill most of the other mercs. She knew Toombs would not let her out of his twisted fingers, knowing she was his only leverage on Riddick. She could only hope he was that close when she went off, so that she could kill Toombs with her own hands.

After burying the trigger in her mind, she could only wait patiently, and try to stay whole.

* * *

"What did you say about my babies, Riddick?" Her voice sounded as coarse and gravelly as his. Understandable, since the only sounds she had made for over a year consisted of screaming, and more screaming. Riddick looked at her, unsure how to feel. Toombs must have broken her later. She didn't remember what happened to her dogs. And even one day with her was enough to know that she had loved those dogs like they were her family. Should he feel glad that she couldn't remember them dying, or not?

"Jack, they're dead. Toombs killed them. Don't you remember?" Her body began to convulse, her eyes rolling up inside her head. Unable to hold her steady, Toombs let her body slide off of his, and Riddick could clearly see the amount of blood and fluids that stained his pants and dick. He took a step towards her, wanting to hold her, not let her bite her tongue off, something, but Toombs' gun was aimed at him before his foot hit the ground.

"Not one more step, Riddick. She dies, it's just doing me a favor, anyway. The shackles are on the chair by the door. And I'm getting mighty impatient to get you to a slam, so why don't we move this along, ok?" Riddick's eyes never left Jack, who continued to flop uncontrollably on the floor, her arms and legs snapping in all directions.

"She dies, so do you, Toombs." On his feet, Toombs took a look at the situation and swore to himself. If he tried to aim the gun at Jack, who was off to his left side, Riddick would be on him before he could get a shot off. He couldn't shoot Riddick unless he intended to kill him, which was a lot less money and unacceptable considering how long he had been waiting for this. So he couldn't threaten to shoot Jack, because if Riddick called his bluff, he was fucked. And Riddick seemed to be waiting for Jack to stop convulsing. Fine. His boys would be showing up sometime in the next hour. If he could just keep the situation as it was until they got there, then it would be checkmate, time to get paid. He could wait a few more minutes.

* * *

Riddick hated how her body was twisting and contorting, hated seeing her blood smear all over the carpet, hated that Toombs had been able to make her bleed before he got there. Hated that he had to stand by and do nothing, let Toombs continue to make her bleed. He hated that Jack might be gone. He had seen the surprise on Toombs' face when she spoke, and figured it was something that she had not done in a long time, over a year if he were to guess by her voice. He wanted to believe that she had been pretending, had been giving Toombs what he wanted to see, but no one could pull that off for as long as she had been gone. Not even him. Toombs had only caught him twice, and each time the slam he was going to had been close. He knew how lucky he was, and he remembered everything Toombs had done to him. He had the scars to remind him if he ever forgot, and not all his scars were where he could see them. He would not have made it through with his sanity intact if he had been Jack. One, two, three, toast.

The only way he knew something was different was because he had spent so much time with Jack. He always knew when she was bullshitting. So when her convulsions began to look a little more forced, a little less jerky, he knew something was up. He also knew he needed to get Toombs attention away from her for a few seconds. If she was going to make a move, she would need a second to realize he was trying to help, the other second to do whatever she had planned. He only hoped he got a piece of Toombs before she killed him. God, he hoped it was real, and he was not trying to see things that weren't there. If he wasn't so hateful of God, and not even Jack could sway him on that subject if she tried, he would have considered praying that she really was ok, and not still convulsing. He honestly didn't know how he would react if she died after all this time, all the hoping he had done. He was pretty sure that whatever progress Jack had made towards making him a man, making him want to be a man, would be gone. He would have no desire to be a man if Jack wasn't there to be his woman. Only the beast would be left. And it would be a relief to let go of all the irritating, useless, and over-rated emotions that he had held on to only because it was what she had wanted.

"What the hell did you do to her, Toombs?!" Toombs gave him a simple smile, but it was enough to wish he had never asked.

"Well, that depends on what day yer talking about, Riddick. On Mondays I usually just cut her up after I fucked her real good. Tuesdays and Thursdays I let all the boys have their fun. I got to watch, of course. Wednesdays were my favorite. See, I love a flexible woman, so I would see how far I could bend all her arms and legs before they broke. I broke them a few times before I got it down, but I always fixed her back up eventually. Saturdays and Sundays were my workout days. It seems you taught your woman to take a hell of a lotta pain before she actually passes out. Now, she can take more. She actually broke my wrist a couple times from over exertion. You understand that I had to punish her for that, right Riddick? I mean, it's not right for my prisoner to hurt me, so if I couldn't beat her up, I let all the guys do it. It's a good thing that we have modern medicine, or she probably wouldn'ta lasted long enough for me to have any real fun." Toombs looked down at Jack before leaning slightly towards Riddick, his hand on the left side of his mouth as he spoke in a stage whisper.

"Don't tell the little lady, but I've been saving her ass for just this day, and it wasn't easy considering how many men I usually have on board at a time. And it was worth the wait." Toombs was too busy watching Riddick's body shake with the effort to not lunge at him and tear him apart, laughing at how well things had worked out and according to plan, to notice that she had sat up. She gave a tiny smile to Riddick before grabbing his hand carrying the gun. One twist of her wrist and his snapped. The gun fell to the floor and Toombs was howling before his head had time to snap around to look at her. She gave him a toothy grin before pulling him off his feet and on top of her. Riddick immediately ran over to them, worried Toombs would grab her again and kill her for breaking his wrist. A loud crunch made his steps hesitate, but he needed to know who was dead. When he saw Jack pushing Toombs' body off of her, it felt like cold water had been poured down his back. She was ok. He helped her to her feet and when she headed for her pile of clothes on the side of the bed, he turned his back for a moment. Her gentle hand on his shoulder brought him back around, and she was shocked to see tears on his face.

"What's wrong, Riddick? Are you ok?" He pulled her into a bruising hug, so much that she wasn't able to breathe. He yanked her away from his chest, his face fierce and enraged, but with tears still streaming down his cheeks.

"Jack, what the hell happened? Toombs said he broke you. You looked broken! And why in the hell did you let him get off so easily?! He deserved to have all his bones broken, or his nuts ripped out, something for fucks' sake! This was just, just... too goddamned easy!!" She took a deep breath and squeezed his forearms comfortingly. She, better than anyone, understood everything he wasn't able to say. 'I'm sorry I let him do that to you. I was scared I had lost you. I'm sorry I let him hurt you. I'm so glad you're ok. I missed you and I love you. And why in the hell is his blood not dripping down the walls right now?! Huh?'

"Riddick, you have questions, I have questions, but we also have mercs who should be showing up any minute now. So can we get outta here and figure everything out later?" She leaned down and ripped a necklace off Toombs' neck, stomping on his face.

"That's for Delios, you monster." She put the necklace in her pocket, ignoring Riddick's questioning look. There was no way she was emotionally capable right then of telling him what had happened to Delios. But stomping on Toombs' dead corpse made her realize just how much pain she was in. And not just her ass. She was also being reminded of the lump on the back of her head, the several spots where she was sure hair had been pulled clear off her head, and the cut on her cheek. Normally she wouldn't include the pathetic cut, but the others were so painful she was willing to indulge in a little pity party and lump the head pains together. Which made what she was going to have to ask of him so embarrassing. She couldn't even look at him at all, her face burning in shame.

"Riddick, please tell me you have a med on your ship. 'Cause I don't know if I can walk all the way there," she admitted in a tiny voice. He remembered that Toombs had been raping her when he burst in, and was immediately furious that he had forgotten. The amount of pain she had to be in... How could he have forgotten something like that! He swept her up into his arms and carried her out of the room, pushing his disappointment away. He had hoped Toombs wouldn't get to die so quickly, but she was right. If they were to get caught now, after all that... He took the back alleys he had scoped out on his way to the motel, trying to keep anyone from noticing that a large man was carrying a woman. Not the sort of thing you see every day. His every instinct was yelling to get her in space and away from the mercs, his beast was roaring for blood. Their blood. The only reason he won out was because she was hurt. She needed immediate attention, and he was dreading it. It was bad enough to have to deal with it when it was just your own injuries, but for it to be hers? He remembered the shame, the horrible pain that took weeks to go away, the shame. He looked down at her and saw she had fallen asleep, her head on his shoulder. It gave him hope that it couldn't be that bad if she could fall asleep. He kept checking for mercs or tails, but once he reached the ship and had her safely strapped down in the med lab, he ran to the cockpit and requested permission for take off. He had to wait in line, so after twenty minutes of running back and forth from the cockpit to the medlab, he finally was able to get out into space. He picked one of the planets he had sometimes used as safehouses, places that were barely inhabitable and scarcely populated, and set the autopilot before walking back to the med lab. He could see that she was awake, but he stopped her from talking. He wasn't ready for that yet.

"Jack, before we can talk, I gotta fix you up. I'm gonna sedate you, and when you wake up you can talk." She tried to get a sentence in, but he shook his head at her.

"Baby, I gotta do this. It's going to be fuckin' bad, so just let me do it. We'll figure everything else out later, ok?" She clearly wanted to say something, but sighed in defeat and nodded. She watched him silently as he set up an IV in her wrist, and when she felt the cold sedatives being pushed into her arm, she gave him one last look before closing her eyes. He watched her for only a moment before getting to work.


	6. Chapter 6

As always, I don't own. Thanks to Lillianrose4 for the inspiration. This chapter has been a long time coming.

She was in a bed when she woke up. The absence of the usual hums and the sound of circulating oxygen told her she was not on the ship, either. Panic immediately seized her. If she wasn't on the ship, where was Riddick? She sat up quickly, trying to figure out as much as she could based on the room. Which wasn't much, considering it had a bed and a chair, containing what looked like pants and a shirt. That brought her attention to the fact that she wasn't wearing pants or a shirt. Her heart seemed to stop when she couldn't help but think that maybe something had happened to Riddick and she was right back where she started. Someone's plaything. She honestly knew she couldn't do it again. The only thing that had kept her going was the knowledge that sooner or later, Riddick would have found out what happened and come for her. If Riddick was gone, then she was fucked. Oh God, what if he was gone, and she never got to say goodbye? Her heart was beating so fast it actually hurt her chest. She concentrated on taking calming breaths, trying to slow the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Once she thought she was as calm as she was going to get, she eased herself out of the bed. Grabbing the clothes, she sank down onto the chair, feeling weak and lightheaded. She put the shirt on easily, but the cargos took a little time, with breaks in-between to catch her breath.

She had just stood up to button the cargos up when the door opened and a man walked in. Freezing, Jack looked at him, trying to gauge his intentions, her heart sinking that it wasn't Riddick. The man also froze, obviously surprised to see her out of bed, before breaking out into a huge grin.

"Thank God! I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. I'm sure you have lots of questions, so let me get you something to eat and I'll tell you what's going on, OK?" He was out the door before she had time to respond. She sank back down onto the chair, remembering that he had not mentioned telling Riddick that she was awake. He must be gone. Was he gone because something happened? Or because he didn't want to be around her now that he knew what had been done to her? She was by no means willing to just jump back into his arms and consider everything forgiven, but chasing after her for a year certainly showed commitment she never knew he had. Or it was maybe just because he couldn't stand the thought of someone else having what he considered his, even though he no longer actually wanted her because she had been used by mercs. She didn't want to think he was so shallow, but there was no reasoning with his Furyan side.

The man came back in carrying a tray full of food, and she took a good look at him. He was actually taller than Riddick, with shoulder-length hair that he pulled off quite nicely. He lacked the bulk that Riddick had, but she suspected that his lanky frame was deceptively strong. Just the fact that she was not nervous in the same room as this huge man was enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had also left the door open. He set her food down on the bed, backing away to lean against a wall. She slowly made her way to the bed, at which point he took possession of the chair, turning it around to straddle it, his long arms hanging over the back of the chair. He was heavily tattooed and even had a few on his neck that she assumed he had gotten in a Slam. She took in his face while she bit into her sandwich, noting the teardrop just under the corner of his left eye. He caught her line of sight and smirked.

"Yeah, I didn't meet Riddick at a quilting bee."

"Where is he?"

"He's fine. Let me start at the beginning. Apparently when Riddick found you, you two were followed by Toombs' merc crew. He brought you here, knowing how much I absolutely hated that fucker. And while I am very glad that piece of shit is dead, I really wish I could have seen you actually kill him. He dropped you off and asked me to take care of you while he lost the mercs. That was about two months ago. You've been out of it the entire time, but considering the damage they did to you, I'm surprised that you're already up. Most people wouldn't have made it through as well as you have. Riddick left a message for you for when you woke up. I honestly have no idea where he is, and I'm sure you know that there's no way to tell when he'll get back. He did want you to stay here on this planet; apparently your face is all over the systems as his accomplice. Unfortunately, housing is a problem here, so more than likely you'll be stuck with me, but I do have a large place. I can set you up with a job, whatever you want to do, just let me know. We also need to work on getting your strength and mobility back up. It's pretty safe here, but if the shit hits, I want you to be able to run.

Basically, I owe Riddick for something, and taking care of you will put us even, so whatever you need, just tell me and I'll get it. Any questions?" Jack set her plate back down on the bed and curled her legs underneath her.

"Yeah, a couple. What planet is this? Can I see the message he left me? And if I'm going to be here, I might as well know your name."

"OH, sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Hudson. This's Dilley 4, in the Buxton system. I'll grab your plate and bring back his message. It's best if we start your physical therapy tomorrow, so I suggest you get your rest." He took the plate from her hand and got halfway to the door before snapping his fingers and turning back to her.

"I forgot that he mentioned you had your own business, like hacking or something. Did you want to get back into it when you get a little better? You seem like the type of person to only have the best equipment, which'll take a little time to get out here. The sooner you let me know what you need, the sooner I can work on finding it."

"I'll have a list for you tomorrow. If I can trust you with my money, I'll give you my information so I can pay for it." He chuckled, and she noted that his smile made the corners of his eyes crinkle. He had well-defined laugh lines, a sign of a life full of laughter.

"Honey, I have plenty of money and don't need to steal from a lady, besides the fact that if I did, they'd never find all the pieces of my body if Riddick found out." He ducked out of the room, only to come back a minute later with a video pad. He left without a word, closing the door after himself with parting words of seeing her in the morning.

She looked at the pad for a minute before pushing the play button. Riddick's face immediately came into view, his shined eyes glowing in the dim lighting.

"Jack, I'm sorry I had to take off, but we only have a couple hours of head-start behind Toombs' crew. The fuckers found us a helluh lot quicker than I thought they would, damnit. I'm leaving you with Hudson until I can come back for you. Stay there; our faces are all over the merc networks. They've got a dead only bounty on you for Toombs. Lay low and don't let that flirt Hudson weasel his way into your pants. I told him you were mine, but I don't trust him with a woman, especially mine. Feel free to break that pretty-boy nose of his if he gets ideas on my shit." His grin faded and his eyes seemed to bore into hers as he leaned forward just a little.

"You will wait for me, Jack. I _will_ come for your ass when I lose these fuckers. And feel free to pine over me until I get back." He gave her a grin that was all teeth, reminding her that he was still a predator by nature. She rolled her eyes at his pining suggestion.

"I know you're bein' a wiseass and rolling your damned eyes, Jack, but after I chased after you for over a fuckin' year, I expect you to miss me while until I get back." His huge shoulders shrugged in a gesture that seemed casual and somehow threatening at the same time.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." The screen went dark. She leaned her back against the wall, thinking to herself quietly for a few moments before settling back down to sleep. It was too much to take in after being asleep for two months, so she would put off dealing with her situation until the morning.


	7. Thwarted new life, now in limbo

They're unfortunately not the creation of my mind, because even if they were, I wouldn't have the money to make a movie anyway. If I had the money to make a movie, I wouldn't have to have a job.

The next morning, Hudson woke her early as promised, and by noon she hated him with a passion. Especially because her brain was the only thing that didn't hurt; two months of bed rest came with a high price. She knew what he was doing, trying to distract her from the fact that her life was in limbo, that she was having to start over. That she was going to have to decide where her life was going eventually. With or without Riddick - that was the big question.

Instead of trying to answer it, she threw herself into her physical therapy and her job. New clients had to be found, old ones notified that she was back, and money to be made to make up for the considerable dent her new equipment had made in her funds. Not that she was hurting for money, as it was never about the money in the first place, but she knew how quickly her situation tended to change, and money was the ultimate fall-back. The biggest surprise came from Hudson. He was in the information business as well, though he was of a different philosophy when it came to obtaining it. His was more of a hands on type of gathering, with people all over the known systems hoping to sell information of all kinds to him. While their two types of businesses were not necessarily compatible, it was nice to have someone to talk 'shop' with.

Days turned into weeks, and one morning she woke up to realize that Riddick had been gone six months. Worried that he had been caught, and slightly guilty that she had seemed to have forgotten about him, she hacked into the merc networks, searching for some sign of him. Nothing. No clue as to whether he had been caught or sighted, as though once he had left her on Dilley 4, he had vanished. If they had caught him, it was being kept quiet. And as Slams didn't exactly advertise their prisoner lists, and half of them only kept lists on paper to begin with, if he had been caught, there was really no way to know for sure. Once again, she was in limbo. She had no way of knowing whether she would be stuck there, waiting for him, for another few weeks, months, or even years. She knew she had no intentions of waiting for him for years. They weren't together regardless of what he said or thought. Yes, he had gone to great lengths to save her, but he did not own her, and if she just fell into his arms (she rolled her eyes at the romance novel-type thought) she would essentially be selling herself to him. Payment for services rendered. She shuddered at the thought of being a kept woman. No, if it came down to it, if she had to leave for whatever reason, she would leave him a message, same as he did. He couldn't fault her for that. People only got one life, and she would be damned before wasting any of it like some fucking fairy tale princess waiting for her prince. Riddick was no prince.

"Are you sure about this? You know he's going to be fuckin' pissed that you didn't wait for him."

She switched her bag from one shoulder to the other, rolling her eyes at Hudson.

"What the fuck do you think I have been doing for the last two and a half years?! Look, you and I both know that there's been no sign of him on either the news vids or the merc networks. He could be living the high life on some pleasure planet for all I know. I had no problem staying for a while, because it suited my needs. But I want a place of my own, as much as it's been nice to live with you. I want what I had before Riddick showed back up in my life, and no one is going to tell me what I can and cannot do. I left him a message, so he knows I'm ok and where I'm going, so what is the big fuckin' deal?"

Hudson sighed and looked up at the transport schedules briefly. She had come to know him well in the last couple of years, and it surprised her to see that he was nervous.

"Hudson, what's wrong? Is there something I should know?" When he shifted from one foot to the other, she knew something was up.

"What the fuck is it? Tell me what you know, Hudson!"

Completely exasperated, he grabbed her arm and dragged her into the nearest alley, pulling her a ways from the street.

"Look, Riddick got pinched about eight months ago. I got a guard working where he is, and he's been passing messages back and forth for us. He didn't want you to know because he knew he'd be getting out eventually. He specifically told me to keep you here until he got out, because the first place he is going is here, to get you. He expects you to be here, waiting like you said you would."

"I'm sorry, but when in the fuck did I agree to wait until he got here?! Am I supposed to just sit here, on my ass, on a planet I do not want to live the rest of my life on, and hope he makes it here in my lifetime?! I never said I would wait, he told me to, and he knows how I take to being given orders. I have lived here for almost three years because it was good for business. I have made enough money that I will never have to work again, and if I have kids, neither will they. So now that I know I am taken care of financially, I would like to leave, because the reason for being here is done and over with."

Hudson tried to open his mouth and get a word in, but she cut him off before he had a chance.

"And what, I'm just supposed to wait for him like some pining, helpless floozy until Riddick comes to save me from my own boring existence?! What if it takes him another six months, or a year to get here? Because he wants me to, I just disregard what I want in life so I can make sure I'm standing by the transports and waving when he gets off?! Fuck that! Unless you can assure me that he will be getting out, and soon, I'm fucking gone, Hudson! Yes, I owe him my life, but that does not give him the right to make me waste that life. So give me a reason to stay, Hudson, please, but don't put words in my mouth."

She continued to glare at him, thoroughly incensed, ready to strike out if his next words were as careless as his last ones. Hudson quickly reviewed his options before deciding he was fucked either way and to go for broke. With a quickness surprising for such a large man, he caught her on the chin, snapping her neck to the side so brutally she was instantly unconscious. He caught her before she could hit the ground, swearing liberally in his head. He knew she was going to honestly try and kill him when she woke up. If he hadn't owed Riddick the kind of debt he did, he would have let her go. But as it was, his loyalty was not up for debate, and what Riddick wanted, he got. Even if he had to lose a friend to pay the debt.

He easily carried her and her heavy bag through the system of alleys, cursing the position of being in the middle of the two of them. He knew Riddick quite well from their younger years, and he had gotten to know Jack well in the last two. While he honestly couldn't say if Riddick loved her or not, knowing how possessive and obsessive he was about things and people he considered his, he was pretty sure Jack still loved him. Not enough to stop her own life, smart woman that she was, but she did. Hudson was not a betting man, but he was a student of human nature, and even he did not want to lay odds on the future of their relationship. Jack had never spoken to him about her relationship with Riddick, which by itself led him to believe that he had done something to hurt her badly, something she didn't think could have been fixed. Then with her being caught and tortured for a year because of him, Riddick rescuing her and leaving before they had time to talk about anything, and him being gone for over two years, things were just a mess. Hudson was pretty sure that Jack was no longer in love with Riddick, how could she be when it had been almost four years since they had had a conversation? And Riddick, he might be in love with her, or just wanting her because he considered her to be his and was taking care of what he 'owned', but who really knew when it came to him? Not exactly the best circumstances for a lasting relationship.

And now he had just put himself in the middle by basically kidnapping her. Even though it was on Riddick's orders, Hudson knew it would probably bring back bad memories for Jack, and it certainly would do damage to their friendship. It was possible she would never consider him a friend again. And even if she knew that he was only doing this on Riddick's orders, would she still hold that completely against him, or give Riddick his fair share of the blame? Would it be better for Riddick's sake to just take the blame, since Riddick seemed to be in the hole enough as it was?

He sighed as he opened the back door to his house, walking to her room to deposit her there. He knew she would have a bitch of a headache when she woke up, so he left a couple aspirin out for her. He was careful to take her bag with her, knowing the few thieving tools she had were in it. Locking the door securely once he was out, he leaned back against it and rubbed his face.

He couldn't believe the shit he had just gotten himself into.

Fuck.

As in, he was absolutely fucked.

11111111111

Three weeks (that seemed to stretch on forever) later, Riddick stepped out of his ship and looked around. He checked for any cops or anything that seemed out of the ordinary, but it seemed as it everything had worked out. No one had any clue he was even gone; and if things continued as he had planned, no one ever would. All he had to do was get Jack and disappear. The second one was easy; he had been perfecting it all his adult life. It was the first one he was worried about.

Although he never would have admitted it to anyone for any reason, he was nervous. The last message he had gotten from Hudson before he broke out was that Jack had tried to leave, and Hudson had been forced to keep her there. While he personally was pretty sure Jack could have been convinced if Hudson had tried hard enough to reason with her, he knew that Hudson probably didn't know her well enough to know how to win arguments with her. It also wasn't something he could tell Hudson in the short, crude messages they had been reduced to while he had been in Slam. So he knew he was in for some serious damage control, for himself as well as Hudson, who was only trying to repay his debt. If at all possible, he didn't want Jack leaving on bad terms with Hudson. He was, after all, a good guy once you looked past the fact that he was a criminal. Still, if he had to choose between Jack being mad at him or Hudson, there was no contest. He had gone through too much shit, had lost too much time, to lose it all now. She was his, God damnit. No contest. End of story.

That all sounded good and well, but it was a different matter when actually faced with Jack. Once Hudson opened the door for him, he knew Jack wasn't happy. He was so very glad he had good reason to keep her from getting on public transpos, but that wouldn't do him any fuckin' good if she wouldn't give him a chance to explain. Hudson's face suggested she wouldn't. Damned stubborn woman.

"I take it she's pissed as hell?"

"You have no idea. It took me two weeks to get her to promise she wouldn't try and sneak out so I could actually let her out of her room. I've been trying to tell her that every merc in the system has a file with her face on it, but she hasn't wanted to listen to one word I've said. I still don't know how they found out she's in Buxton." Riddick took in Hudson's tired face and the dark circles under his eyes, and he knew Jack had been a difficult guest.

"She still think we've kidnapped her?"

"Yeah. Well, no. I mean, she knows we haven't really, because we're not doing this to hurt her, She's still holding a grudge like only a woman can. You sure know how to pick 'em, Riddick. I mean, she's a great girl and all, but she's a little too high maintenance for me. I'm gonna take off for a couple hours; I've been yelled at enough and I don't want to be here when she tears you a new one. Good luck, man. We're even on my debt, right?"

Riddick nodded, amused to see Hudson, a huge man fully capable of taking care of himself, rushing to get out of his own house. The grin left when the door closed. He fingered the shiv hidden on his back, a habit he didn't know he had, before knocking on her door.

"Jack, you there?" When there was no answer to several more knocks, he figured she was asleep and decided to peek in on her, anxious to see her for the first time in over two years. He cracked the door open, careful not to make any noise, peeking in enough to see her bed.

"Jack?"


	8. Broken noses and a lack of stupidity

Ok, guys, it's time for reality for the two of them. They've both kinda become different people, and while the change in Riddick is not exactly for the best, it is in Jack. I'm thinking she deserves to run circles around Riddick for a while, don't you? This's only the beginning, because things have happened in the last two years that he (and you) doesn't know about. Let the mind fucks begin!

Riddick, Toombs, and Jack are not mine, they are, however, really cool action figurines in my head. I'm just sitting at the computer, making cool sound effects every time someone gets hit.

* * *

He should have seen it coming, known it was coming, but she had never been so physically expressive, so he didn't. The fist came from behind the door and caught him squarely on the nose, breaking it. He stumbled back into the hallway, hearing her chuckle just before the door slammed closed and locked. He touched a hand to his nose and felt where it was bent the wrong way before cracking it back into place. Skipping angry and moving straight to fucking pissed, he kicked the door in and stormed into her room, glaring at her as she calmly sat on her bed like she had been there the entire time.

"Hey, Riddick, how was Slam? Was the food ok?"

He clenched his fists in an attempt to keep them from wrapping around her throat.

"What the fuck is this, huh Jack? I spend two years either running from mercs to keep you safe or in Slam, and a broken nose is the fuckin' thanks I get?!"

"No, the broken nose is for making Hudson feel like he had no choice but to basically keep me hostage here so he could even whatever favor he owed you. Sure, I give him some blame for being jackass enough to actually do it, but I'm sure you made it clear I wasn't to leave, which's why he did it in the first place. So tell me what happened that made it so important that I not leave. And I swear to God, Riddick, if it's just because you wanted to see me, then I am out that door, and you can kiss my ass!"

"No, Jack, I did not keep you here just because I wanted to see you. Although I have every right to expect you to be here after the shit I have gone through for you. Besides, if it comes down to it, I can find you no matter where you go." He took one look at her pale face and hurried on before she could start yelling again.

"The reason I couldn't let you leave is because the entire merc network has somehow found out you're in this system. Your face is all over the news vids for the murder of Toombs. With Slam thinking I'm still there, you're the number one fugitive."

He watched all the color disappear from her face, and was glad she was already sitting down. She leaned back against the wall, looking at the ceiling.

"So," she said in a quiet, monotone voice," let me get this straight. I get kidnapped illegally by Toombs and tortured by him and his crew for a year for the simple fact that you know me. I kill him in self-defense, but I can't prove it, because you were there and we had to run. So now everyone thinks that I killed him, and I have become the ultimate bounty. What am I worth?"

"1 mil," he rumbled.

She gave a short, humorless bark.

"Wow - pretty good for a law-abiding citizen. I assume they have a list of all my tattoos?"

"No. That's the only good news. None of his crew could remember what they looked like, only where half of them were. This's exactly why I told you that you couldn't get any, Jack."

She ignored the fact that he was talking to her as if she were a three-year-old, as it was one the many ways he used to be able to cow her.

"So I take it that you have a plan that involves getting me out of the system and hiding? You're going to be my knight in shining armor and all that happy horse shit?"

He was becoming uncomfortable with how calm she was. He knew she should have been raging, perhaps attacking him again, but she wasn't. He also knew that when Jack was unpredictable, it never meant well for him.

"Basically, yeah. Though you're no fucking princess and the only thing shiny about me is my eyes. You seem to be taking this pretty well, for you. Why no screaming and temper tantrum throwing, Jack?"

She gave him an uninterested shrug of her shoulders, taking her eyes off the ceiling to look at him indifferently.

"I give up. You win. I know you didn't want this to happen to me, but it has. I don't have any other choice but to stick with you, because if I travel alone I'll stick out like a sore thumb. And we both know you want me back, so you get your wish. Like you said, you can find me no matter where I go."

Exasperated, he pulled up her chair and slunk into it, rubbing his hands over his bald head.

"That's not what I fuckin' meant, Jack, and you know it. I'm taking care of you because none of this would have happened if I hadn't fucked up. You wouldn't have left, I wouldn't have done that job on that planet you were hiding on, and Toombs would have never found you. So yeah, you don't really have a choice but to stick with me, but I haven't exactly wanted this to happen to you. You make me sound like some obsessed, abusive boyfriend who's compensating for his lack of dick, and I have no problem with what I was born with. Yeah, our lives have basically sucked ass for the last few years, but this's what we have to deal with, so deal with it. Drop this autistic shit and deal with it, goddamnit."

She sprang up and stood on the bed, but made no move to attack him.

"I'm sorry, should I be crying my eyes out like some pathetic girl who wants her mommy? Maybe I should be screaming at you how unfair life is, that this should never have happened to me? Please, like that would actually accomplish something! So fine, I'm stuck with you and it is mostly your fault. And sure, I could agree with the fact that if you hadn't slept with Lucy, none of this probably would have happened. But ya know what, Riddick? I'm tired. I had a life, and it got taken from me. I was all set to leave here and try to get another one, but that didn't happen either. It's pretty damn clear that I am not really supposed to have a whole lotta say in what happens to me right now, so I'm just goin' with the goddamned flow. But don't think that because we're stuck with each other for a while, that I'm going to fuck you. I'm sure you've been doing just fine with whores up till now; you can just keep right on doing that. As far as I'm concerned, you and I are even. You don't owe me shit, and I sure as hell don't owe you a goddamned, motherfucking thing. So how about you let me know when you're ready to leave, and as I've been packed the entire time, I'll be ready. The sooner we find some backwater planet for me to live on, the sooner you can drop me off and get back to whatever it is that you want outta life."

With that, she dropped back down onto her bed and lay down, turning her back to him.

"Jack, you know I'm not going to just drop you off on some planet." He kept his voice low and even, like he was talking to someone who had to have things explained to them in simple terms. "I've spent too long trying to find you and keep you safe. It's been almost five years since Lucy, don't you think it's time to let that go and move on? Don't forget, Jack, you're mine. I wouldn't have gone through all this shit for anyone but you."

Without moving, she answered him.

"Honestly, Riddick, it would be in your best interest to not talk about that subject until I get out of this damned house. We can debate whether I am still yours or not some other day, I'm really not ready to argue about that right now, not without wanting to break your nose again."

He had to try hard to keep the smile from his voice; he knew he had her.

"Which's what I don't get. The Jack I remember would have tried to castrate me already. You're being too damned calm about all this. I find it hard to believe you're not a little pissed about your life being thrown in the shitter. You're a criminal, even though you haven't done anything wrong. If people knew what actually happened to you, you'd have a civil suit where you could take millions, and no one would fault you for it. Hell, they'd probably make you a hero for being caught up in justice gone bad or some shit." His voice had taken on silky tones, hypnotic and insinuating.

"You lost your business, your pets that you treated like family were brutally killed, and you lost a year of your life. None of which is because you did anything wrong. Now every merc who ever checks up on the lists is in this system, hoping to retire off your capture. If they find you, you'll be lucky to make it to a Slam alive. And you know what'll happen if you make it to Slam. What they do to women, even women who can take care of themselves. You'll have to sleep sometime, and if you don't have a protector, they'll be scraping what's left of you off the walls. Instead, you're stuck with me, me who knowingly cheated on you and caused this whole shitstorm to happen. Me, who still thinks of you as mine, and who has absolutely no intention of ever letting you go, not when I have done so much work to keep you where I want you. So no, I know you're mad as hell, because I am the cause of every bad thing that has happened in the last five years, Jack."

He smiled a toothy smile when her back seemed to spasm ever so slightly, thinking he finally had where he wanted her emotionally. Jack may have changed, but no one changed completely. It was human nature to fall back into habits, especially in a person's reactions to certain people. When he could get her worked up enough, she was extremely easy to manipulate. And he desperately wanted to know exactly how she felt about him, because that would dictate everything else.

His surprise was great when the first bubble of laughter came from the bed.

"I'm sorry, Riddick, did you really think all your old tricks would still work on me? God, how stupid and gullible do you think I am? I'll talk to you in the morning. I'm looking forward to getting the fuck off this rock." Her voice was still even, and she had not turned back to face him. Giving up for the moment, he left her alone. He needed to think out his next move, needed to go over their conversation to figure out this new Jack. Riddick always did like a good human puzzle.


End file.
